|
May
23, 2003 My name is Reginald Littlebrave Sr. and I am a full-blood Indian from the Rosebud Sioux tribe, of the White Buffalo Pipe Clan. I am Chief Caretaker and Pipe Carrier of the Black Pipe and the Black Pipe ways. I am the appointed teacher of the spiritual ways of the Black Pipe and the traditional practices of the White Buffalo Pipe Clan. I am Chief Drummer of the medicine world, as well as Chief Fire, Cedar, and Doorperson. I am the Assistant Chief Leader and Spokesman for the Native American Church of Pejuta Wakan 31-32 hailing from the state of South Dakota. I am Blackpipe. This is my opinion on what I have been recently hearing about our ancient spiritual ways of life. I am concerned for the future of our children and our grandchildren, the children of tomorrow and the children of their tomorrows. God's way must continue on. The Pipe that they talk about is God's way. I believe God's way shall continue on even if the heavens and earth pass away.The Pipe needs to continue on through our children so God's way can continue on through them. The Cheyenne say they are protecting the native ways of life. If that is what they are doing, they need a wise human being to speak for them. They need to explain what they are saying and doing and what they want to accomplish, because they are throwing out a negative energy to the world. The Pipe believes in and gathers God's children from the four corners of the earth. The Cheyenne are scattering God's children to the four corners. Whosoever scattereth, God is not there. If the intent of the Cheyenne is to protect these ways, they need some wise spokesagent. From my point of view, what they are saying does not make sense. If the Cheyenne knew what they were saying, there would not be a negative energy created among the people. I do not believe the United States government and those who make laws and caretake the freedom of religion should walk into the Native American ways of life and prayers because these are the only things we have left to find freedom in. I strongly believe that if the Cheyenne know for a fact who is misusing the sacred instruments and ceremonies, they should address them directly. Why should all the non-natives be punished for the actions of a few? And still, there are those who abuse these ways of life that are native. No religion or way of life on this earth is 100% secure from the errors of humanity. The reason I am fighting this is because my kids are what the Cheyenne call iyeska (mixed breeds or half-bloods). Some of my family are what they call non-native. What is a half-blood or non-native? Are we not all native to the land unto which we were born? There are those whom they call non-natives who have grown up in these ways of life, within these ceremonies, and this is all they know. It is thus their way of life, what was shown to them by their fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers. What will happen to them if their way of life is taken from them? What will happen to our children who will not be able to carry on our sacred traditions into tomorrow because they are not full bloods or natives? What will happen to our spiritual traditions? They will die out. Our ceremonies may be "protected", but they will not be preserved. The Cheyenne should really think about these things before they present the paper (Declaration to Amend Freedom of Religion Act of 1978) to the United States government saying all Lakota agree. This is not true. The Pipe they are talking about was given to the Lakota people, including the seven sacred ceremonies, a few of which are the Sundance, Inipi (sweatlodge), Hunka (relative-making), and Hanblecha (vision quest) rites. The only ones that have authority to tell the Lakota oyate anything about the pipe is Almighty God Himself and the White Buffalo Calf Woman - no one else. Who has given the Cheyenne the permission to speak for all Native American peoples and ways of life? Are they breaking spiritual laws or trying to steal spiritual gifts? Only Almighty God has the authority to guide and protect the ways we communicate with Him. No man can own a way of prayer. I wonder if anyone who is speaking for this Pipe has asked the Pipe how it feels. Have these people considered the feelings of this sacred instrument and how it wants to be used? At the conference in Bear Butte, SD on May 10, I personally witnessed how the Cheyenne used the sacred pipe. They neither sang pipe songs, nor spoke in the native tongue of the Lakota, who were gifted these pipe ways of life. If the Cheyenne want to protect the sacred traditions of the pipe, they must learn how to respect them too. If the Cheyenne open this door, the government will soon enter into the Native American Church, Powwows, and any ceremonies that have to do with Native American ways of this continent. We will soon have to have a license for our instruments, and eventually have to borrow them from the United States government. We may have to show ID to go to pray. I wonder what other Cheyennes are saying, only 4 or 5 came to the conference at Bear Butte on May 10. Is there any wise men among the Cheyenne that can come to speak for them? Why haven't the Cheyenne asked the Native American Church Lakota peoples who pray with the pipe how they feel? Did they ask the Powwow people who use the pipe in their Hunka ceremonies? How about the Sundance peoples? The people who do Inipi, Yuwipi, and Lowanpi ceremonies? Did the Cheyenne take their point of view to the Rosebud Tribal Office or other Lakota spokesagents? They have only asked the Bundle Keeper, who is my nephew. They did not ask me, a Sicangu full-blood from the heart of the Rosebud reservation. Do they truly have any idea what they are doing and how it may affect us all? I wonder about many more things, but I am going to go about this far. If you
have any questions, feel free to contact me. Please go to the following pages to get the reactions of the Little Feather Center and other members. Updates
complements of the Friends of Little
Feather Center, Pipestone MN. All copy in the interviews and letters are not the work of the Little Feather Center but the authors of each piece we are just collecting them in one place for educational purposes. |
